The present invention relates to an industrial truck with a drive part having a driver stand.
When traveling on uneven ground, a spring-suspended stand platform is very comfortable. A large, vertical spring excursion decouples the stand platform from the vehicle to provide a form of suspension. If the suspension is too soft, a greater spring excursion results which can be interpreted by the driver as being too long (i.e. too bouncy). Furthermore, the driver stand should offer effective suspension for drivers with a bodyweight between 50 kg and 150 kg. The driver at the bottom limit of the weight range should experience appropriate suspension comfort, as well as the driver at the top end of the weight range. Depending on the type and position of the weight bearing down on the stand platform, a large swinging movement by the platform arises over the spring excursion. If the standing surfaces are very wide, lateral swinging and tilting can occur. If the stand platform is frequently mounted and dismounted, the lateral swinging is felt to be unsafe and unstable by vehicle drivers.
A standing surface for a standing driver of an industrial truck was disclosed in DE 42 14 788 C2. The standing surface includes a platform which is supported by at least one elastically yielding buffer element fixed to the vehicle, wherein a flexible section of a reinforced sheet metal plate on one end is securely connected to the part fixed to the vehicle, and the buffer element abuts the other end of the sheet metal plate.
A spring-suspended driver platform is known from DE 103 60 298 A1 in which the stand platform is spring-suspended by a spring element and additionally dampened by a damping element.
A floor panel for a stand platform of an industrial truck is known from DE 10 2005 045 505 A1. The floor panel is pivotably mounted and pretensioned by a spring in an elevated position, wherein a proximity sensor is arranged below the floor panel. A switching pin is arranged on the bottom side of the floor panel such that it triggers a switching process by overlapping the proximity sensor when the floor panel swings downward against the force of the spring.
DE 10 2006 009 330 A1 discloses a stand platform for a lift truck in which the standing surface is formed by a top floor panel which is mounted in an articulating manner to a bottom floor panel, and is dampened at its opposing end by spring and/or damping elements.
A stand platform for a lift truck is known from DE 10 2006 009 331 A1 which has a spring-suspended standing surface for an operator, wherein the standing surface is formed by a top floor panel which is mounted in an articulated manner to a bottom panel. A spring element is arranged between the floor panels and pretensions the top floor panel upward relative to the bottom panel. The top floor panel can be moved downward by the weight of an operator against the force of the spring element, wherein a position sensor is provided for recognizing the position of the top floor panel.
An industrial truck is known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,497,505 and 8,414,065 in which the height of a spring-mounted floor element can be adjusted by a scissors gear. A resilient effect arises from pretensioned spring elements which engage with and hold in position the scissors gear or floor panel. With the known method, lateral instability of the floor platform and the significantly limited weight range proved to be disadvantageous.